Job prospects Clinical Occupational Therapist in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "clinical occupational therapist" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Nova Scotia

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Good for occupational therapists (NOC 31203) in Nova Scotia for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Demand for occupational therapists (OTs) has been increasing due to a variety of factors, such as the aging population and rising number of individuals in long-term care, as well as the growing inclusion of non-physician health practitioners in collaborative primary care settings. Opportunities arise regularly in all areas of the province and overtime is common for OTs in fields with a shortage of workers.

Roles in occupational therapy exist in diverse settings in both the public and private sectors. Positions in hospitals often relate to rehabilitation or mental health and addiction services, while jobs with large private employers such as long-term care homes are also common. Further, a single position in a rural area may serve multiple facilities. Many OTs move from employment to self-employment mid-career.

Graduates from master's degree programs are considered generalists but will still have decent employment prospects. Even so, they may benefit from additional training in a certain specialization of their interest.

Here are some key facts about occupational therapists in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 700 people work in this occupation.
• Occupational therapists mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 56%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 28%
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 10%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 86% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 14% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 68% of occupational therapists work all year, while 32% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 11% of occupational therapists are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 10% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 90% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: n/a
  • bachelor's degree: 41% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 57% compared to 10% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Nova Scotia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Learn more